We had a tree guy over for an estimate on cutting down a mulberry tree in our yard because it is in the process of wrecking our neighbor's stone wall and fence. While we were looking at it, MrsBlue surprised me by asking about the gigantic maple next to it, pointing out it was missing bark all up one side of its trunk. Once I saw what she was talking about, it was no surprise that he said this monster was in danger of coming down, and should probably be felled. We're unhappy about this on a number of levels: The loss of the beautiful trees, the loss of the home of more than one bird's nest, and the loss of privacy from our neighbors' yard. We are also quite concerned that this is going to harm our naturally cool house, as this tree blocks a significant amount of sunlight all day, which combines with our brick walls and relatively high ceilings to allow us to get by with no air conditioning except in my penthouse (converted attic) office, something that came immediately to mind since it was about a thousand degrees yesterday. We'll just have to see how this turns out, since we can't risk this tree actually falling, as it could completely obliterate our neighbor's house if it did.

dubfanatic wrote on May 27, 2010, 20:01:On our road there is a 100-foot tall Western red cedar that died sometime last summer. It's right up against the road and the property it's on has been abandoned for almost two years. One of these winters it's going to fall in a windstorm and probably block this dead-end road but there's nothing anyone can do about it.

Call your local institution for maintenance on the road. They should pay the cost of having the tree cut down.

On our road there is a 100-foot tall Western red cedar that died sometime last summer. It's right up against the road and the property it's on has been abandoned for almost two years. One of these winters it's going to fall in a windstorm and probably block this dead-end road but there's nothing anyone can do about it.

I dig where you are coming from, Blue. A close friend of mine teaches dendrology classes at RU here in Joisey so it would be way easier for me to get a trustworthy estimation of whether or not to save them.

Get a second opinion from someone who doesn't cut them down for a living. A tree doctor might have a better solution and would probably be cheaper.

Well, the mulberry tree was going either way, since it is ruining my neighbor's wall.

And while getting additional opinions is always a good idea in a case like this, after seeing how badly damaged the one side of the maple is, I would be suspicious of someone telling me they could save it. The tree guy said he thought it may have been struck by lightning at some point, a theory that is supported by a branch that is oddly pruned just above the tree's "wound."

It is old and majestic and beautiful, but if this maple falls on my neighbor's house it seems likely someone would get killed, so as much as it breaks my heart, I do indeed believe it must be cut down.

Odds are about 1-in-3 that mega-earthquake will hit Pacific Northwest in next 50 years.

Thanks a lot, Blue. First, laid up with a cast on my foot for a month, now I read this. Happy happy joy joy.

Oh, and by the way my wife broke her ankle taking a beginning motorcycle course 3 days after I tore my Achilles tendon. So we're *both* in casts. We play rock-paper-scissors to see who has to get up and get the drinks ....

If the tree's endangering the house it's time for it to come down. Speak to the neighbour though and see what they say. It might not change an inevitable result but even so they'll appreciate the involvement in something that affects them.

Think of it as an opportunity to plant a new tree.

Previous parental home had a giant monkey puzzle tree. Looking at google images I can't find one quite like it, ours was at least as big as the biggest ones I could see but it had the great shape that only seems to show on the juveniles (older ones seem to only have branches at the top). I think it was in a book or a paper or something because we'd get a couple of people a year turn up to look at it.

No Killer Croc level from Batman:AA? C'mon. Let me spend 45 minutes in a level that shouldn't have lasted more than 10, tops.

The flight training and certification course on the PC version of GTA: San Andreas takes the cake! I HATE that part of the game with a passion.

#13. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: All Ghillied Up

I actually enjoyed this mission and map! We need more stealth FPS games! They're fun!

#15. Top Gun: EVERY LEVEL

"All I remember about Top Gun (NES) was landing sucked!!!! Actually in retrospect the controls were as bad as the flight controls in GTA: San Andreas. Did the people behind Top Gun NES work on San Andreas?!" Source

Hmmm, in item 2 doesn't the guy forget a decimal point. Should be 3.3 billion kilowatts not 33 billion. That makes it far less impressive. (Actually it should be 3.6 so maybe I'm not understanding his calculation)

Oh I certainly understand that. I only ever plant with as much information as I can get, how much space a tree will require as an adult, possible issues with roots, etc. But I can totally understand the need. I just hope I never have it myself.

On another subject, that L4D cake is pretty damn awesome. Just don't expect it to get eaten. Those realistic cakes might actually be delicious but people still avoid them. I remember a Halloween party a few years back my sister threw and her closest friend brought 'cat box cake' which looked like a litter box with nice fresh turds and clumps of urine. It looked so real that nobody ate any. The adventurous eater I am, I had a chunk of it but I could only get through half of it (and a few bites off a chocolate cat turd) before I was done. It was just so realistic my brain was telling me 'you don't want to eat that!' lol.

So good luck with the L4D cake. But unless all your friends love L4D, don't expect if it hardly gets eaten at all.

Fion wrote on May 27, 2010, 11:29:Now as an adult I never cut down any trees and I never plan to.

I understand and generally agree with the sentiment. However, sometimes it is necessary -- as with Blue's situation, or with my Honey Locust that's going to die or become a problem sometime in the next 5-10 years.

Yeah, I'm not as far north as Blue, but too far north for fruit trees, except for apple. I'm essentially 120 miles straight south from Chicago. I put some value into the idea of someone being able to buy this house 50 or more years from now and looking in the back yard and saying/thinking, "Wow. Look at these two great trees."

I remember as a kid my mother's boyfriend at the time used to cut down at least three trees every spring. Now mind her house is right in with the forest so there are still dozen or more beautiful oak and maple tree's all over the yard but it always drove me nuts. Now as an adult I never cut down any trees and I never plan to.

I'm moving into a new house in July and I'm agonizing about cutting down some trees. I don't have a whole lot of yard space and I've always wanted to have some fruit trees. These decorative trees are just taking up space. They're not so old and large it would be reprehensible but I sure don't want to start off on the wrong foot with the neighbors who may have grown fond of them. But damn I want some summer nectarines!

Holy coincidence, Batman! I just contracted to have the two large trees in my back yard removed.

I wanted to get rid of the Sweet Gum simply because I am tired of the spiked ball seed pods it drops. The other a Honey Locust (Thornless) is "near the end of it life span." I could have the dead portions cut out, and the canopy raised/trimmed -- it would probably last another 5 years, possibly more. But I figure it makes more sense to remove both at the same time and put in new trees.

My current plan is to never move, so I don't mind that it might be a few years before I have good shade again. The issue is finding a balance between getting shade I can enjoy during my lifetime and getting a tree I won't have to remove in 40 years, assuming I'm still alive and living there (both of which are hopefully, likely).

Top of the list for replacement selection currently are Frontier Elm, Swamp White Oak, and Yellow Birch. Also considering an "ornamental" tree near the back porch...